TVSquad

• At 8, ABC has a new Hank, followed by new episodes of The Middle, Modern Family, Cougar Town, and Eastwick.
• CBS has a new Old Christine at 8, then new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• NBC has new episodes of Mercy, Law and Order: SVU, and The Jay Leno Show.
• FOX has a new So You Think You Can Dance at 8, followed by a new Glee.
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8.
• PBS has a new Great Performances at 8.
• G4 has a new 2 Months $2 Million at 8.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Mythbusters at 9, then a new Time Warp.
• IFC has a new Monty Python: Almost The Truth (The Lawyer's Cut) at 9.
• History Channel has a new Nostradamus Effect at 9, followed by a new MysteryQuest.
• Showtime has a new Inside The NFL at 9.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new South Park, then a new Secret Girlfriend.
• Bravo has a new Top Chef: Las Vegas at 10.
• FX has a new Nip/Tuck at 10.
• Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible at 10.
• TCM has The Third Man at 10.
• Also at 10: Travel Channel has a new Man vs. Food.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

This isn't her first time, but I can't think of a better guest star for the final episode of Nip/Tuck than Joan Rivers. What her role will be in the finale remains to be seen; hopefully it won't have to do with semen-based facial creme. Rivers says even she doesn't know what the episode will be, explaining that "they only send you your pages for what you're filming."

That's like Lost-level secrecy. Nip/Tuck has had its shockers through the years, and since the creators knew this ending was coming, they've certainly had time to prepare. Supposedly Rivers won't be the only star making an appearance. "Star-studded" is the word I've seen being thrown about.

A good show can keep you so entertained that you're willing to fight sleep to watch the rest of it. A great show physically keeps you awake.

It gets into your bloodstream and forces more adrenaline into your heart.

It turns the synapses in your brain into ferrets on espresso that dash back and forth between the lobes and fires your mind on all of its cylinders.

It is visual cocaine, which is much healthier than actual cocaine and doesn't require a frequent visitor punch card for an eyes, ears, nose and throat doctor.

These are the shows that assault all five of the senses or less depending on how good of a health plan you've got.

Not even the marvels of plastic surgery could save what's become, believe it or not, one of cable TV's oldest dramas - Nip/Tuck.

The wildly successful medical drama starring Julian McMahon and Dylan Walsh as plastic surgeons wrapped production on its series finale (and 100th episode) last week and according to The LA Times, it was a quiet day.

Why the lack of fanfare typically associated with the end of such a popular show? Simple - the finale likely won't air until 2011, around two years from now.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have a light version of the column as more and more series are on summer hiatus so production is halted. Look for spoilers for: Greek, Heroes, Lost and Nip/Tuck. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

When you write about the television business, one of the little perks is receiving the press kit for a new or returning program. Occasionally, some little trinket will be included -- Kona got a whistle for Sit Down, Shut Up, there was a tee-shirt with My Boys -- but for the most part, the thing you remember about a press kit ultimately is the show.

When the press kit for Glee arrived, it made me laugh. The package was like a long, CD box (remember those?), all in red and looking like a typical high school locker. It even had a combination lock, which gave me the willies as I recalled the apprehension I had that first day in school when I wasn't sure I'd remember the combination in time to make it to home room! There was also a small mirror on the left side -- which I guess qualifies as a trinket -- and it caught my smile in its reflection.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: 24, Big Love, Bones, Brothers & Sisters, Friday Night Lights, Heroes, Lost, Nip/Tuck, Smallville, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and United States of Tara. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

• At 8, FOX has the two-hour season premiere of American Idol.
• ABC has the series premiere of Homeland Security at 8, followed by two new episodes of Scrubs and a new Primetime: What Would You Do?
• CBS has new episodes of NCIS, The Mentalist, and Without A Trace.
• NBC has a new, two-hour Biggest Loser at 8, then a new Law and Order: SVU.
• There's a new 90210 on The CW at 8, followed by a new Privileged.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs, then a new Wreckreation Nation.
• History Channel has a new episode of The Universe at 9.
• Sci-Fi has a new ECW at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new Nip/Tuck.
• TNT has a new Leverage at 10.
• Food Network has the series premiere of Chopped at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Real Housewives of Orange County.
• At 11, TBS has a new 10 Items Or Less.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

(S05E15) "Shaft had tit cancer?" - Christian

She sure made it look easy, huh?

After the way part one of this season ended, with Sean finding out who Colleen really was, most were amazed when they saw Colleen jamming a knife into Sean's back in the mid-season finale. With his new celebrity status, the likely restraining order Sean had out on Colleen, and the assumption that there must have been some sort of security at the new McNamara/Troy LA office, it seemed unlikely that Colleen would have been able to get within 100 feet of Sean. Not the case.

Again, she made it look easy.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

The end of the year is always a lame time for TV DVD releases (there were hardly any at all last week). Of course, if you're a fan of any of the seven DVDs that follow, this is a great week.

• 10 Items Or Less - Seasons 1 and 2
• Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget: Uncensored
• Death Note - Vol. 8 LImited Edition
• Greek - Chapter 2
• Kyle XY - Season 2
• Nip/Tuck - Season 5, Part 1
• The Secret Life of the American Teenager - Season 1

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479 - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: 90210, Bones, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Lost, Nip/Tuck, Pushing Daisies, Supernatural and Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

It's hard to believe, but there are only 27 episodes of Nip/Tuck left. Not that many, is it? Granted, those final installments will be spread over the next three or so years, but it's really not many if you think about it.

As you may recall, when season five of Nip/Tuck was initially greenlit, FX ordered 22 episodes. Prior to that, no season had aired more than 15. I was ecstatic at the time and when season five finally arrived, I couldn't contain myself. Then the writer's strike hit and suddenly, 22 turned into 14. Eight episodes remain and the "disturbingly perfect drama" finally returns to FX to wrap up its fifth season on Tuesday, January 6th at 10PM ET.

Last we saw the McNamara/Troy family, tragedy had struck in numerous ways. The mid-season premiere, "Ronnie Chase," picks right up where the season left off last winter.

A few days ago I mentioned that both Nip/Tuck and Damages were returning after the New Year, but no premiere dates were known yet. However, FX has now announced that the highly anticipated second season of the Glenn Close legal thriller will make its sophomore debut on Wednesday, January 7th at 10PM. The network has been running ads for Nip/Tuck for a few weeks now, but this past weekend they released the first of what I'm sure will be many new promos for Damages. I've got a bit of an issue with it though.

Including gay characters on your TV show is good, unless it's two lesbians who fall in love with a straight man, as they do in a storyline on New Amsterdam. FOX learned that the hard way when they received a failing grade from GLAAD (The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) on their second annual GLAAD Network Responsibility Index. The index measures the "quantity, quality and diversity of images of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people on television."

Even though GLAAD gave FOX a failing grade, the network's cable counterpart, FX, received top honors for cable channels. The advocacy group praised them for including the most original programming that featured members LGBT community. Special notice was given to Nip/Tuck, which had a gay, lesbian, or bisexual character in every episode. Rescue Me's commitment ceremony storyline was also viewed favorably by the group.